Nová Cerekev

The new synagogue

The local Jewish community established its first prayer house in 1693. In the 18th century, it erected a low wooden prayer house with residential quarters on the southern side of Rubeš Street (no. VII), which was used until the middle of the 19th century. The new synagogue was built in 1855 on the site of the former prayer house as a triple-nave building in the “Babylonian-Assyrian style” by architect and builder Stephan Walser (1813 Jičíněves – 1896 Říčany u Prahy). It is a distinctive building in the style of early historicism with oriental elements, wide protruding towers with battlements, a clock on the western façade, and a five-sided eastern apse. It is a dominant landmark in the northern part of town, and together with the parish church forms the town’s distinctive skyline. Located between the two columns on the interior eastern wall is a tall neo-classical Torah ark with stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments in Hebrew writing. The unusually bright interior is surrounded on three sides by vaulted women’s galleries on massive square pillars reminiscent of Cubist architecture. After the war, the synagogue was used as a storehouse until 1990, when it was sold to a private business and continued to deteriorate. In 1997, it was bought by the Jewish Community in Prague, which began preparations for its preservation. In 2010–2014, the synagogue was completely renovated as part of the Federation of Jewish Communities’ “Revitalization of Jewish Monuments” project at a cost of more than CZK 23,500,000.